Gendered Perceptions of Pork Consumption
in Uganda: A Qualitative Analysis
Mutambo, I.a,b, Galie, A.c , Sengendo Ma Ouma, E.b , Roesel, K.b,d
aMakerere University School of Women and Gender Studies, Kampala, Uganda
bInternational Livestock Research Institute, Kampala, Uganda
cInternational Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
dFreie Universität Berlin, Germany
Pictures
Background
• Globally, pork is the most consumed meat due to its rich nutritional
value (protein, iron, zinc, potassium, magnesium, vitamins).
• Consuming pork is important for the health of both men and women.
However, worldwide, women eat less pork than men and this is not
different in Uganda.
• The reasons why pork consumption is gendered are largely unknown,
and the aim of this was to explore possible reasons.
• Research questions were to
❑ identify attributes of pork retail outlets that male and female pork
consumers consider when purchasing pork,
❑ examine gendered perceptions of pork consumption, and
❑ analyse other factors affecting consumption of pork by women
and men in Kampala District.
Methods
• Pork consumer study was in Kampala (people from different socio-
cultural backgrounds)
• Semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 116 pork consumers
(64 male and 52 female respondents)
• 6 focus group discussions with consumers (3 men, 3 women only)
• 9 semi-structured key informant interviews with pork retail
owners/managers
• Content analysis was performed on the transcripts of these interviews
and discussed using Nvivo software.
Results
• Men and women had a perception that eating pork improves the
immune system, especially among people living with HIV/AIDS.
• Men consume pork because it tastes good, relieves hangover, and is
social (get together to discuss business and everyday life issues).
• Women consume pork because it tastes good and is tender meat.
• For both men and women the hygiene (cleanliness) of the pork retail
outlet environment as well as that of the waiters and waitresses was
the most important attribute for choosing pork retail outlet.
• Female respondents also looked for other attributes of retailers
including proximity of the pork retail outlet to their homes, security
(open and free of attack and harassment), good customer care
(friendliness, respect and speed of services) and quality of pork (well
dried pork).
• On the other hand, male respondents looked for retail outlet that
have a relaxed setting that allow privacy, sell pork on credit, offer low
prices, and that use accurate weighing scales.
Conclusions
• Our study revealed variations between men and women pork
consumption behavior.
• It gave insights into consumer decision making processes, which are
significant for the innovation and diversification in the Uganda pork
sector and for public health policy decisions related to meat
consumption in general and pork consumption in particular.
• Subsequently, to avoid gender differences of pork consumption, there
is need to sensitize people about social-cultural beliefs/attitudes that
prohibit women from eating pork so that men, women and children
are allowed to freely consume pork.
• Health campaigns on pork consumption should be gendered in order
to increase the intake of pork amongst women, men and children.
Corresponding author: Irene Mutambo mutamboirene@yahoo.com
This project was funded by the CGIAR Research Programs on Livestock and Agriculture for
Nutrition and Health.
ILRI IPM September 2019
Key messages
• Both men and women consume pork because of health reasons.
• Male and female choice of pork retail outlets is attributed to the hygiene of
the premises and the attendants.
• Communities perceive female consumers who eat pork from pork retail
outlets as demonstrating loneliness and prostitution.
• The presence of unaccompanied women at pork retail outlets signifies
irresponsibility.
• Female pork consumers perceive men who patronize pork joints as
irresponsible and running away from their traditional responsibilities as
family breadwinners.Souce: https://peopleimeetandfoodtheyeat.com/2018/07/17/ugandan-fried-pork-with-all-the-trimmings/
This document is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence.
September 2019.